Virtual phone number for business: definition, Arcep rules and uses in France

“Virtual number” is a commercial expression, not a regulatory category. The French numbering plan managed by the Arcep classifies numbers by use: 01 to 05 and 09 for so-called multi-purpose numbers, 06 and 073 to 079 for mobiles, 08 for value-added services. A French number presented as virtual necessarily belongs to one of these categories; what makes it “virtual” is the way the operator routes it, over the IP network rather than through a telephone socket.

In practice, the call ends up wherever you have decided: telephony software on a computer, an app on a smartphone, an online phone system, or forwarding to another number. The technical principles of IP telephony are explained in our guide to VoIP.

The most common case is the second number: a tradesperson or self-employed professional separates business calls from personal calls without carrying two phones. Next comes the number shared by a team, which rings on several handsets or follows time slots. A business can also open one number per activity or per campaign, to see where calls are coming from.

Finally, a virtual number makes forwarding easier: depending on the time or on availability, calls can be routed to a colleague, a voicemail, an answering service or an AI agent. Setting up forwarding is covered in our guide to call forwarding.

Management and control of the numbering plan are entrusted to the Arcep by Article L. 44 of the French Post and Electronic Communications Code (CPCE). The Authority allocates numbers to the operators that apply for them, online via its extranet; the law only allows it to allocate numbers to other legal entities for the purpose of providing innovative services. In practice, a business therefore obtains its number through an operator. The Arcep’s database shows which operator a block of numbers has been allocated to.

Since 1 January 2023, any landline number can be used throughout the same territory, mainland France or each of the overseas departments and regions, with no geographical restriction. Until then, each number beginning with 01 to 05 was attached to one of the 412 basic numbering zones of mainland France. The practical consequence: a “local number” is now a choice of prefix, not proof of location. The Arcep also points out that the location displayed on a mobile is a matter for the operating system provider, not the operator.

Some ranges have a specific use: numbers from 0937 to 0939 are intended for exchanges with a technical platform, and the plan provides for so-called verified multi-purpose numbers, which can be used as the calling number by automated calling and messaging systems. In December 2025, the Arcep also amended the plan to improve the authentication of calling numbers against spoofing, with measures that for the most part came into force on 1 January 2026. The specifics of 09 numbers are covered in a separate guide.

Number portability is the ability to keep your number when changing operator. It is provided for by Article L. 44-4 of the French Post and Electronic Communications Code and can only be exercised within the same territory, among the seven listed by the Arcep: mainland France; Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy; French Guiana; Martinique; Réunion; Mayotte; Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.

The process relies on the operator identity statement, or RIO (relevé d’identité opérateur), a unique 12-character code of letters and digits generated by the current operator and passed to the new one when you sign up. Porting terminates the previous contract, without exempting you from any fees or penalties it may provide for. According to the Arcep, a subscriber who has already cancelled can still port their number up to 40 days after cancellation. For businesses, the RIO is not required when the lines taken out are “linked” (solidaires) to one another.

Before choosing a virtual number provider, check that the number is in your name, that it can be ported and that the provider issues the RIO: a number you cannot take with you makes you dependent on the provider.

With a virtual number, call routing is generally set from the provider’s interface: immediate forwarding, forwarding when there is no answer or the line is busy, time-based rules. You can thus have a person answer during the day and an automated reception in the evening, or the other way round, without changing the number given to customers.

A few precautions are needed: ask the operator how forwarded calls are billed, test each scenario before publishing it and always keep a route to a person. The ANSSI, France’s national cybersecurity agency, in its technical note on securing IP telephony, lists call transfer among the functions that require particular attention when they are activated.

With Alyas, the principle is to forward the line you already use to the agent, whether it is a traditional or a virtual line, depending on your operator’s call forwarding options; the phone setup is checked before going live. The agent answers 24 hours a day, announces that it is an AI and that the call is recorded, answers from the information you provide, collects contact details or books an appointment if Google Calendar or Cal.com is connected, and transfers the call to your transfer number when the caller asks. Each call produces a transcript and a summary. The trial lasts 10 days, with no credit card required.